Real estate developers could soon receive a 10-year tax break for launching projects in remote areas, away from the country’s current urban clusters, the Federation of Egyptian Industries’ real estate division head, Osama Saad El Din, tells EnterpriseAM.

Part of a wider plan: The Finance Ministry has formed a joint committee with the division to resolve outstanding tax disputes and weigh a new incentive package for the sector, Saad El Din told us.

Why it matters: Just about all of us live on the Nile, and most of us seem to want to live in Cairo. Egypt’s urban footprint is currently crammed into just 14% of its total land area. Saad El Din argues that tax breaks are the only way to offset the high risk of moving into unserved territory and to ease the overcrowding of investment in major cities. If approved, these incentives could lower unit costs for buyers and attract fresh FDI into the sector.

Lobbying efforts aren’t limited to taxes as the division is also pushing the New Urban Communities Authority for longer grace periods and other payment facilities when they put down cash for remote plots, according to Saad El Din.

Developers have often had issues with how their units are taxed, with the Tax Authority ignoring contract values for residential units, instead using market price estimates based on neighboring projects, division member Mohamed El Bostany told us.

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